So my dear friend Quinn (who has just very recently left Paris for the Land Down Under to follow her ♥ -but she will be back someday, let’s say in like 2-3 years…) has been going to a café in the 9th for well over a year. And she has been going, religiously. I think she’s still the Mayor on Foursquare even though she is no longer in Paris! She kept telling me to go there, and me never “finding the time” to hike over there put it off and off. And then Quinn left… 
Her café of choice? : Kooka Boora.
Continue reading
A Little Paris Café Story
24 MayGala Concert & Cocktail : Giveaway!
21 May
Image credit : Sinfonietta
Sinfonietta Paris is a new Chamber Music orchestra and the brainchild endeavor of Michael Boone, former head of the music department at the University of Colorado. I met Michael at the Kooka Boora café at the same time I met Very-Intersting-and-talented-dude (which you’ll read about in my next post!). Just another proof that Paris still attracts artists and amazing people with talent!
An artist and “activist” of sorts who wants to make sure classical music creation is something that is perpetuated more by young musicians and music professionals; he has created Sinfonietta. “Composed of nine to seventeen young professional artists who have trained at many of the world’s finest conservatories and festivals, Sinfonietta Paris is a vibrant new chamber orchestra based in Paris, France, dedicated expressly to musicians and soloists at the beginning of brilliant performing careers.” You can support them with donations here. Continue reading
Dangerous Lingerie Shop
18 MayI had been planning on investing in a little something for Chéri and I…but I had not committed to anything yet. And then, I was innocently wandering down a lovely street in the Marais, my mind on things like home décor and an “apothicary style” dinning room… I was minding my own business, when this store just came up on the trottoir and literally PULLED me in! I am not kidding you! I had no part in it whatsoever. None.
And when I was in there, I was really only going to look. REALLY!
Beautiful Blogger Award!
15 May
I saw this little concept floating around the bloggosphere, and thought it would be a great way to promote some of my favorite blogs!
How does this award work?!?
1. Display the Award Certificate (the image) on your website (Or create your own!)
2. Announce your win with a post and link to whoever presented your award (Ok no one presented me with one, but I figured it has to start somewhere!)
3. Present 15 awards to deserving bloggers that you like to read…
4. Drop them a comment to tip them off after you’ve linked them in the post.
5. Post 7 interesting things about yourself
My nominees for the Beautiful Blogger Award:
Drum roll…
I follow and read these bloggers on their websites or instagram or twitter accounts or all of the above, and they help me perpetuate my constantly renewed outlook on Paris, my city my muse. Merci tout le monde!
1. Quinn of Quinntessential Style
2. Coco and Vera
3. Olivia of Oh la-la-livia
4. Jennifer of Jennyphoria
5. Mary of Fox in Paris
6. Kasia Dietz of Love in the city of Lights
8. Brandi of Posh Little Designs
9. Katie of Fashion follows her
10. Vanessa of Messy Nessy Chic
11. Kimberly of A bit coquettish
12. Tricia of Patricia Parisienne
13. Sion of Paris Imperfect
14. Carin of Paris in Four Months
And now for the 7 interesting things about me part….
Hmmm. This is a hard one as I seldom allow myself to publish things about my personal self and my intimate life on here (although I did make a few exceptions in 2012 for my wedding to Chéri) so this makes me feel like I am going a bit out on a limb. Not that there is anything compromising here!!! LOL!
1. I come from a large family.
I have 8 siblings.
Yep.
That means there are nine of us. I think that also means we could probably start our own baseball team.
But, we would rather just cheer for the Red Sox, mostly.
2. I have a twin sister.
We are non-identical. But we look quite similar sometimes. Our voices sound alike!
3. I am classically trained in ballet.
I know the dance of the Sugarplum Fairy, and I am not afraid to use it!
For the dying swan dance which is a much more difficult piece, I just fake it, and with humor. My own invention of “modern” dance if-you-will.
4. I vote Democrat
But am a registered Independent.
5. I am very dairy-intolerant.
But many of you know that already.
6. I have done three road trips across the United States.
Before cel phones, laptops and wifi were something that everybody had. We used paper maps!
*GASP!*
Once on a greyhound bus from East to West.
Once halfway in a jeep and halfway in a Greyhound bus form West to East.
And a third time in a Ford Tempo I owned, West to East, and I was in shock when I made it across.
I was practically my own version of Dean Moriarty.
7. I grew up without a TV.
And I am better off for it.
Voilà!
Félicitations to the winners of my Beautiful Bloggers award! Don’t forget to pay it forward!
Gatsby Inspiration Board
12 May
Yes, the Gatsby craze is coming to Paris as we impatiently wait for it to arrive in cinemas here.
In the mean-time, I have created my own little inspiration board for fashion, accessories and home décor to fit the mood.
Share links to your inspiration boards and blog posts for all things Gatsby in the comments below!
*Bisous de Paris*
Lessons In French : book review
12 May
I was contacted in March by February Partners–a book PR and marketing firm based in New York City and asked if I would like to review a copy of Hilary Reyl’s first novel titled : “Lessons in French”. I told them, sure…why not, and then forgot about it until I received the book a few weeks later. Honestly I did not know the author, and I never really expected to discover a book that really made me feel anything. I was assuming that this would be another one of those “Paris books” about how a girl comes to Paris and falls in love, and writes about how she adjusted and nana-ni nana-na as we say in French. I also assumed I would have to write some bland review about how it was a “nice charming portrait of Paris and what it is like to come live here”… Boy was I wrong!
Can I start by stating, to just make it all clear, that I LOVED THIS BOOK!
Continue reading
Pretty Paris Pictures again
9 MayI can’t help myself when I am out wandering the city armed with my camera. Chéri finds it exasperating to stop every two feet so I can take several shots of yet another thing from yet another angle. But then he says it’s also part of my charm (my constant distraction). AH LOVE!
Enjoy my most recent snapshots of Paris …
Café Hopping in Paris
6 MaySo there is this concept that people tend to do in their 20′s, called bar hopping. It happens at night, silliness and debauchery is involved and beverages are drunk.
I am in my 30′s so my bar hopping days are long gone, but I do enjoy a good bout of café hopping! Coffee was in the late 18th century considered a drug (it was consumed at EXTREMELY high concentrations so people would get practically high off it and start (French) revolutions. So if I were an 18th century Parisian I could be considered to wild and crazy, but now coffee is one of the most civilized drinks, caffeine a blasé drug and it is taken as an afternoon treat when one is trying to relax. Robespierre may well have fallen over in his seat if he had been aware of such an outcome of this substance. But there you have it.
I met Mary of Fox in Paris and we hopped from Café Coutume in the 7th to the Télescope café in the 1st. Continue reading
A Parisian Portrait : Alain, the bouquinist
3 May
I was secretly thrilled with myself for having resolved to lug my camera around with me all day, the day I met Alain. I was wandering along the Seine, happily snapping shots of everything that pleased me, not a care in the world could bother me that day. I had free time, I live in Paris, and Spring was peeking its head around the corner. Trees started sprouting vibrant green tufts of leaves and plush pale flower buds. The rain came and went as I happily popped my red umbrella out only to tuck back in my bag a few minutes later. The sky was a manic mess of gray clouds and blue patches. It was wonderful. I felt similar to myself a decade ago when I had a student’s luxurious schedule and could wander from café to book shop on a whim.
I was wandering past the famous bouquinist boxes along the river when I spied him, this wrinkled and weathered little Frenchman, pulling books out of the path of another impending rain shower. He did so methodically, without rush, handling each of the volumes with a delicate gesture that attested to his love for books, words and literature. A little rain did not scare him. I wondered how many years of stress and worry taught him how to react with such serenity. Or maybe he was born with serenity. I am sure in his style of life, stress is not a helpful factor. Continue reading
Pieces of Paris
1 MayFor a long time my blog tag line has been : “Take a piece of Paris and call it yours”.
Lately I seem to have been in a mood to clean up clutter and streamline things. The desire to change it came over me, but I didn’t want to toss out the meaning (that being one of my blog acting as a window to the elements of Paris that I discover, love, hate and want to share with you). So I shortened it up and made it shiny : “Pieces of Paris” is my chic new motto.
Pieces Of Paris – part one from Prete Moi Paris on Vimeo.
I made you all a little video while on a Sunday stroll with Chéri, just to illustrate it. This is volume one of a multiple part series (the future parts have not yet been made, they will be spontaneous and colorful (weather permitting) and hopefully offer different moods to the different pieces of Paris!
Intense Macaron Indulgence
28 Apr
Fauchon… you know the brand? I do! I walk by their store at the Place de la Madeleine almost every day. It’s French, pink, divine and elegant. I love to offer gifts from their stock of delights and indulgences. I even put some Fauchon chocolates in my party favor bags at the Prête-Moi Paris 3 year party. So you could say, I am a big fan of this French power house of delicious things to treat oneself to!
So when they contacted me to ask if I would like to try some of their new line of strawberry and yuzu infused products, I replied an enthusiastic “OUI!”
A pretty box of macarons came in the mail just days later.
Continue reading
Âllo Quoi!
24 AprI have been here in France for more than ten years now….and over that time I have learned a few things about phone calls and courtesy. Often times, foreigners (being one myself I can speak from experience) have a harder time communicating over the phone. Especially understanding the person on the other end of the line. Perfecting that comes with practice. Another thing that comes with practice is finding the right words to use over the phone. I feel I have come to a point where I can perfectly manage phone calls using all the French courtesies and phrases that I have so diligently added to my repertoire over the past decade.
The Truth About Chocolate Mousse
21 AprSo, apparently I am one of the few who “knows about” this discovery : chocolate mousse doesn’t need dairy -at all-. I came to the conclusion that most people don’t know this truth judging from all the recipes I see that call for all sorts of creams, and butters and crazy dairy requirements, and the fact that I have never met a restaurant that does it sans butter or cream. Even the dairy free recipes out there on the internet all call for the complicated substitutes that I just don’t want to deal with. Chocolate mousse is really quite a simple recipe. 3 basic ingredients are all it takes! 
THREE! I wish more restaurants would get the concept since it would be nice to have something other than fresh fruit once in a while for dessert when I go out. But then I live in France, dairy land of the world. *sigh* … I suppose that the silver lining is that I have retained my figure.
When I want dessert, I have to make it myself. And usually I have to come up with all sorts of resourceful and inventive solutions to my creations to make them look, taste and feel like the “real” thing.
Luckily for me this is one of the simplest desserts out there!
Quinntessences & LH Designs
18 AprMissing You In Paris from Prete Moi Paris on Vimeo.
As a Paris expat blogger, I am always happy to let you all know about my other fellow expat friends and bloggers. I am thrilled to present you with two fabulous ladies today!
Quinn Connors as the model and stylist of the mini style story above, and jewelry designer Leonor Heleno of Leonor Heleno Jewelry Designs.
Both of these two are expats in Paris, and are talented and creative ladies in their own right. Continue reading
My take on the “French Lover”
15 Apr
Benjamin Millepied & his wife Nathalie Portman
I was interviewed by Eloïse Daviaud for the NT1 show En Mode Gossip, about the French Lover. It seems the French are enchanted that Hollywood is gaga for several hommes français that are infiltrating the star system over on the sunny Californian coast. I have to say, Guillaume Canet, Jean Dujardin, Benjamin Millepied and those other Frenchies are dashing and droll, and they certainly export a different type of romance, one that is suave and charming, and has less of those heroic-savior-of-the-world proportions that we so often see in American film characters/stars.
Organic Elegance : Rose Bakery Tea Room
14 AprRose Bakery Opens at Le Bon Marché
♥
♥
♥
♥
♥
♥
Earlier this month, the third edition to the Rose Bakery Paris family opened on the second floor at the Bon Marché on Paris’ Left Bank. After establishing a worldwide presence from Paris and London to Seoul and Tokyo, culinary power couple Rose and Jean-Charles Carrarini brought their organic, English tastes into a chic, Parisian atmosphere and opened the Rose Bakery Tea Room. “In respecting our values for what they are, and not what they represent, our move into the Bon Marché Rive Gauche avoids all stereotypes. Each of our locations is always very personalized. The space changes, but our cuisine remains the same.” Continue reading
More…Pretty Paris Pictures
13 AprI have done posts like this a few times before. It’s my way of sharing my snapshots of Paris that I take randomly…
Night…
Cake & Bake makes me a cake!
9 Apr
Paul Waters a.k.a. “Pastry Boy” of Cake & Bake invited me over to his boutique on rue Lancry in the 10th for an in depth demonstration of how to decorate a cake in fondant. Little did I know the surprise he had in store for me! He had conceptualized a cake just for Prête-Moi Paris! I was thrilled to watch the “sculpting” happen right before my very eyes, and to capture it all on video for you. In addition to being photogenic and just plain charming, Paul also has an expert hand, it meticulous when creating his masterpieces. He always made sure everything was just perfect! And of course, made it all look sooooooo easy in the process!
See what he is capable of here…and hold on to your bakers hats…this video goes fast!
Cake & Bake from Prete Moi Paris on Vimeo.
Marjorie Renner – designer
6 AprI want to introduce you to a woman I met, who is not only a talented designer and beautiful lady, she is also a lovely soul and conscientious human being.
Invited into her home where she also runs her office, I was immediately doused in an enthusiastic South Asian welcome with wide smiles mixed with a European refinement and style. Marjorie was comfortably yet elegantly dressed and coiffed nicely with a bit of makeup to enhance her already beautiful features. She gestured with her long graceful arms towards the lovely living room where she had laid out a wide array of her clutches for me to admire. She was quite easy to speak with instantaneously, full of discreet panache and brimming with a sunny disposition. I liked her immediately.
Continue reading
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
My Red Bubble Shop
Wedding Tea Room
Carré Royal
Ambiancity
THAT Lou
Easy Jet 2011 Paris expert!
A favorite blog of Paris and its region!
Flickr Photos
|
